Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A Century from Now

Filmmaker and fellow Huffington Post regular Lee Stranahan makes a good point this morning over at Bob Cesca's site about what the future will look like for Barack Obama -- and by future, I mean what his eventual legacy will almost certainly be.

"One hundred years now, schoolchildren in the United States will know the names of three Presidents by heart; Washington, Lincoln and Obama.

I say this before we even know exactly how successful President Barack Obama will be. As far as the pop culture part of history is concerned, I don't know if it matters. Obama is iconic in a unique way for a number of reasons including his racial background, his name, his looks, his youth, his campaign visuals and the birth of new media in his time. His record is important to us but his place in history is already assured.

One hundred years from now, hardly anyone will remember George W. Bush. He's a footnote, a failure, a buffoon. The guy before Obama. Whatisname. His record may be akin to Hoover but in the big scheme of things he's Chester Alan Arthur."

I'll actually take it one step further. It seems inarguable to me that George W. Bush will be remembered by history not only as the man who preceded Obama but whose failures and mistakes almost certainly helped to usher in the era of Obama.

That's not all. Bush also inspired people to listen. Of course, it was usually to deride him, but his supporters AND his detractors made sure they knew what he was saying and what he was up to, much more than in recent history. The world's eyes were on him as he flew away in that helicopter, and they turn now, as one person, to Hope.

I don't think he will be remembered as being on watch during the twin towers incident. He and the extreme right tried to associate him with the attack so much, and tried to capitalize on it politically so much, it is now almost shameful to do so.

As much as I'd like to agree with that, don't you think W would most likely be remembered as the President that was on watch when we were attacked?

I don't think that will be huge, as we're talking 100 years from now. To think that we'll go a hundred years without another attack is... well, incredibly delusional.

The world is in a bad place right now, and Obama couldn't solve it all in eight years, even if we let him have eight years.

It's a bit silly to think that students will only know three presidents. Most know Jefferson, FDR, even Teddy and everyone knows Nixon. So to think Bush will fade away in history is a bit of a misnomer. Though I guess Polk has been long forgotten.

I'm a former network news producer and manager, the media editor at The Daily Banter, and a writer who's been featured in The Huffington Post,The New York Observer and The Village Voice. I'm also the author of a book called Dead Star Twilight and the founder of DXM Media, a firm specializing in television production as well as social media strategies and consulting. On top of all that crap, I'm the co-host of "The Bob & Chez Show" podcast and radio show with Bob Cesca. To find out more about me and/or throw money at me, go here. You can contact me at deusexmalcontent@gmail.com or chez@dxmmedia.com. Follow me on Twitter at @chezpazienza.

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